Longevity

  Last week's disquisition , including alienation. foreshadowed  the negative consequences pertaining to  physiological and psychological health .  Moreover , lifespans are  headed in the wrong direction.   This disquisition addresses additional factors interfering with  functional aging  employing  The longevity Test  which was based on  research from the Longevity Institute International. 

 

Alienation according to Marx  was related to socioeconomic factors in the work environment.  A few of these  socioeconomic variables  were measured , and suggest their importance affecting longevity . They are as follows : 1. Family income  up to $200,000  .2. Educational attainment had a higher score for postgraduate or a professional degree compared to some highschool or less  3.  Professionals and self-employed workers received higher scores than clerical, support, shift work or being unemployed.  4. Being in contact ,in the work environment with pollutants, toxic waste chemicals, radiation, or carrying a firearm to work. 5. Commuting time to and from work  6. Comprehensive medical insurance  and being able to use  physicians of your choice  compared to having  a limit for physician choices and/or having no insurance  7,Therapeutic measures such as comprehensive physical exams, blood tests, gynecological exams. Pap smears ,monthly breast exams , mammograms., genital self exams,  prostate exams, menstrual status, hysterectomy scores, postmenopausal , estrogen supplements, bowel movements, constipation, irritable bowel disorder ,sigmoidoscopy and skin lesions  .Other additional measures evaluated were blood pressure  with numbers ranging from normal ,borderline or high; cholesterol  being low, moderate, high; HDL-cholesterol 30 to 45, over 45;  and family member having diabetes.

Alienation also has to do with  having a negative  attitude and  making poor choices regarding self. This test identified many  of these behaviors that pertain  to  physiological, psychological and functional aging. The following variables  correlate and have to do with smart  or poor behavioral health choices.  For example: 1.  Tobacco use, ranging from one pipe or two cigarettes to the number of packs smoked daily  2. The number of years smoked compared to never smoking was also heavily weighted. 3.Alcohol  consumption was measured ,ranging from no alcohol consumption to the number of ounces of alcohol consumed on a daily basis.4..  Exercise ranged from 20 minutes or more of moderate aerobic exercise five or more times a week to no regular aerobic activity. 5. The number of flights of stairs  walked  6. Physical exercise at work  -from at least 2 miles of walking per day or   sedentary work without  much walking or climbing. 7. After taking a brisk walk or slow jog were symptoms of racing heart, irregular heartbeat or chest pain experienced  8.  Weight was evaluated for being  ideal or underweight  9.Measuring waist to hip ratio for both men and women . 

Accident Control  behavior was  assessed. 1. Wearing a seatbelt  2 . Drinking and driving including number of arrests 3. Weight of vehicle , subcompact or motorcycle.I would  have added contact sport activities , auto accidents and/or CTE diagnosis .

 Nutrition was important and some choices included :1.Eating a well-balanced diet or not eating a well-balanced diet 2. Eating regular meals at a consistent time  or not eating regular meals at a consistent time  3. Eating a balanced breakfast or not 4. Consuming fish, or poultry as primary protein sources  or not ;5.Eating at least five servings of green leafy vegetables daily or not 6. Eating at least five servings of fresh fruit or juice a day  or not 7. Avoiding fats or not avoiding  8. 50% meals consisting of fries, take-out foods, prepackaged or pre-cooked foods,or not 9. Eating some food each day that has a high fiber diet or not 10.Taking a daily multivitamin or mineral supplement that includes vitamins A ,C ,B complex, zinc, selenium .

.Changeable psychological factors were measured such as: 1. Being married or in a long term committed relationship or not 2. Satisfying sex life twice a week or more or not 3. Having close friends or not  4. Having a  regular daily routine or not  5.Hours of good sleep. or not  6. Yearly vacations or  not  7. Participation in stress management, yoga, meditation, music or not .I would have added psychotherapy treatment.

 Factors related to psychological  health called Changeable Emotional Stress factors  were measured , with a Likert Scale  . It  ranged from never, rarely ,sometimes ,to always.  The categories included : 1. Being generally happy  2. Having enjoyed time with family and friends 3 . Feeling in  control of personal life and career  4. Living within financial means  5. Set goals and look for new challenges  6. Participate in  a creative outlet or hobby 7. Having and enjoying leisure time 8. Express feelings easily 9. Laugh easily  10. Expect good things to happen 11. Anger easily  12.  Critical of self  13. Critical of others  14. Lonely even with others  15.Worry about things out of your control  16. Regret sacrifices made in life.

 Although I did not present the entire test, the topics Identified provide an indication of the number of choices pertaining to diet, lifestyle, environment,  mental attitude that relate to aging  that can be modified or changed..  I would have added  test  questions related to leisure activities such as equestrian , motorcycle, contact sports , accidents   along with pandemic vaccinations ,  mask wearing , climate change  stressors , CDC , prescription medication and physician guidelines,  dental care and participation in psychotherapy .

The importance of stress cannot be understated.   Dr. Hans Selye, postulated the alarm reaction caused by prolonged stress, which he called distress. Selye identified 4 stages:  !. Alarm Reaction. 2. Resistance  3. Exhaustion .4.Organ failure ,disease and death in his model.  There are many factors that affect the physical or emotional disequilibrium resulting from stress or prolonged distress.. Change in temperature , having a conversation , watching TV, playing a sport, planning an event, reading a novel, running a hill , driving a car. being late to an event, working , being in an uncontrollable situation etc..  Any activity can result in a change in homeostasis or disequilibrium resulting in  hazardous. Health consequences 

Negative  stresses are not pleasurable, but result in anxiety that affects mind and body such as a headache, stomachache ,allergies, ulcers, heart disease, cancer as well as affecting one's immune system, blood pressure, increased serum cholesterol levels, and lowered lymphocyte count.  In fact, one study found evidence of a heart attack four days after the individual experienced angry episodes with the risk doubling only  two hours after the outburst.  Specifically, the hormone cortisol is released with a cascading effect of production of free radicals . The hypothalamus ,neuropeptides , pituitary and adrenal glands become activated during stress.

In conclusion, healthy living is influenced by heredity , environmental circumstances, luck , values, perseverance,  commitment , being astute and well read with a myriad of choices and their unintended consequences. Psychological and functional age has to do with lifestyle.  Individuals in "It Has Nothing To Do With Age,"  pursued  healthy lifestyles that were indicative of their youthfulness, competitiveness and excellence.  Russ Kiernan  passed at 84; Jim Steere at 85 and Jack Sholl at 85.  Lew Hollander remains active in his 90s.  I'm nearing 84 and fit . I was told , as a teenager, by my dear Aunt Eva that there was nothing more valuable than health .Aunt Eva was a wise Lieberman .

Reference

Klatz, Ronald and Goldman, Robert.  Stopping The Clock.  Keats Publishing Inc.

PS

Some people try to achieve immortality through their offspring or their works.  I prefer to achieve immortality by not dying.-Woody Allen